Originally Posted by 2000mc (Post 78201)

there isnt one, pushrod engine, so it has a short chain.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG (Post 78184)

Unless your chain has s t r e t c h e d to the point of changing your valve timing (stretching would retard it, which is bad for FE because it would lower effective compression... I believe), you won't notice any difference in fuel consumption.

That said, does the free-beer-in-Fla-in-the-depths-of-winter offer only apply to clencher??

Originally Posted by Gary Palmer (Post 78187)

Under the terms your proposing, I don't think you should be counting on the work acutally getting done. The primary incentive you are offering would seem to lean the participant towards the chugging side of things, not the working side.

Originally Posted by csrmel (Post 78194)

depending on where the tensioner is located, a worn timing chain may advance or retard the cam timing.

Originally Posted by 2000mc (Post 78197)

i've asked the top guy in our shop about this very thing, not for mpg, just for wear. i had a 94 olds, but it goes for the series2 3.8s also. he says they're lifetime chains/gears, had never seen any in need of replacement from wear. or heard of any ever replaced for reason other than customer requesting it or complete engine overhaul/rebuild. i was asking because mine was over 200,000miles at the time, he said hes seen +300,000mile chains that were just fine.

long story short, wear doesn't seem to be an issue on these engines timing chains.

Originally Posted by csrmel (Post 78259)

tempting offer, and now that i know you live in orlando thats not too far from palm beach, about 80 miles on the pike. what parts of orlando, and what kind of car make model year and engine is this? so far all i know is that its an under head cam olds which i have no expierence with. however it cant be much more complicated than an ohc import, which i have loads of expierence.

Originally Posted by rh77 (Post 78252)

IIRC, OHV/Pushrod engines (mostly from GM) aren't interference-based. If the chain breaks, the engine just quits. It's one of those things that you replace when it breaks.

On my old '77 Olds 350, the timing chain broke one evening (luckily a mile from home). It just quit. When I tried to start it and it had an erratic beat to the starter. I didn't know what happened at the time (first car and all). No harm done, easy fix.

Now on the Hondas, I don't take a chance on the belt -- every 80K miles with the water pump and tensioner.

RH77